Women’s Softball

Senior third baseman Taylor Mabry runs into home base with her team awaiting her arrival in their win against Emory & Henry College in the ODAC tournament in Salem, Va. on Saturday, April 27, 2019. Photo retrieved from the Lynchburg Sports Website and taken by a member of the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network (LHSN) staff.

Caitlin Dorsch ~ Copy Desk Chief

On Sunday, April 28, 2019, the number 20 nationally-ranked University of Lynchburg softball team was defeated by the number one nationally-ranked Virginia Wesleyan University team in the semifinals of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament for the championship title. Although the team lost by a final score of three to seven and did not receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III national tournament, the Lady Hornets still have a possibility to make it.

The Lady Hornets, who have 32 wins and 12 losses on the season, must now wait until Monday, May 1, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. to find out if they received a bid into the NCAA Division III national tournament following debate by the NCAA Division III tournament selection committee.

“The team did not go down without a fight on Sunday,” said senior pitcher Taylor Belknap.

The team started out strong with senior first baseman Mackenzie Chitwood’s home run that lead to two runs being scored. This was her seventeenth home run of the season, tying the single season program record set in 2006.

When the Virginia Wesleyan University team began to make a comeback, the Lady Hornets fought back. Sophomore pitcher Kayley Cox retried eight Virginia Wesleyan University batters, and sophomore right fielder Kortney Leazer battled her way to second base to leadoff the fourth inning for the Lady Hornets. Unfortunately, the Lady Hornets ended up being short in the end.

Chitwood remarked, “We are not done yet. We have worked so hard to get to this point, and we know that we can do great things in the tournament. We have a strong culture that will lead us far into the tournament, and we just hope we get a chance to show it.”

To see the fate of your Lady Hornets, please tune into the NCAA Division III softball tournament selection show on Monday, May 1, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.

On Saturday, April 20, 2019, the women’s track and field program won their second-straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) outdoor title. The team scored a total of 222 points, which was 76 points ahead of the second-place team, Bridgewater College. This ODAC title is also following their ODAC title for indoor track and field on Sunday, Feb. 24, of this year. There, the team ended with an overall score of 176 points, which was 44 points ahead of the second-place team, Bridgewater College.

2019 University of Lynchburg Softball Senior Class posing for a photo. From left to right in the photo stands Brittany Coffey, Taylor Mabry, MacKenzie Chitwood, and Taylor Belknap. Photo retrieved from the Lynchburg Sports Website and taken by a member of the Lynchburg Sports Network Staff.

Caitlin Dorsch ~ Copy Desk Chief

On Monday, April. 15, 2019, the 19th ranked University of Lynchburg softball team competed in their final home game matches of the regular season. On this senior day, the team competed in two back-to-back games against Eastern Mennonite University, another Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) team. The seniors celebrated during this match from the Lady Hornet side were pitcher Taylor Belknap, infielder Taylor Mabry, infielder MacKenzie Chitwood, and catcher Brittany Coffey. The team defeated Eastern Mennonite University in both games by a score of 8 to 3 in the first game and a score of 7 to 2 in the second game. The seniors really come out with intensity in these games and played a big part of their team win. Chitwood got four hits, scoring two home runs, and Mabry scored three times on the day.

After a strong Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) performance last year and a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia, the Lynchburg softball is prepared to start another stellar season. This past off-season, they have worked tirelessly on and off of the field in order to create authentic relationships with one another and to fine-tune their performance.

On Saturday, April 14, Lynchburg College’s women’s softball team hosted Roanoke College in their annual military appreciation game. The day also doubled as their Code Red game. The double-header ended in a split, with each team taking home a win.

Roanoke won the first game with a final score of 12-7. The Hornets scored two runs in the first inning and five in the last, while Roanoke scored two in the first, seven in the last and one run each in the second, third and sixth innings.Read More

The Lynchburg College softball team has started off their 2018 season on a high note. They currently are 11-3 overall and have a winning percentage of .786. After starting off 8-0, the lady Hornets were ranked 19 in the NFCA’s (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) top 25. Read More